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Linfield Reports, 11/12/12

ADMISSION PLANS FALL OPEN HOUSE

The Office of Admission will host the annual Fall Open House on Monday, Nov. 12. Linfield is expected to welcome over 100 prospective students and their families to campus. For more information, contact the Office of Admission at ext. 2213 or visit http://www.linfield.edu/admission/visit/events.html. Please help welcome these guests to campus.

BUCCOLA, WADEWITZ TO GIVE READINGS

Linfield faculty members Nicholas Buccola and Lissa Wadewitz will read from and discuss their recently published books Monday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room of Nicholson Library.

Buccola, assistant professor of political science, will discuss his book, The Political Thought of Frederick Douglass: In Pursuit of American Liberty. Wadewitz, assistant professor of history, will be speak on her book, The Nature of Borders: Salmon, Boundaries, and Bandits on the Salish Sea.

Buccola brings a new focus on American historical thought in his April 2012 book focusing on Frederick Douglass, one of the most prominent figures in African American and United States history. Douglass was born a slave, but escaped to the North and became a well-known anti-slavery activist, orator and author. Beyond Douglass’ role as an abolitionist, Buccola argues for the importance of understanding Douglass as a political thinker who provides deep insights into the immense challenge of achieving and maintaining the liberal promise of freedom.

Wadewitz’s book centers on the ecological impact of political borders on the life of salmon of the West Coast of the United States, documenting how fishing practices in the late 19th and early 20th centuries turned the boundary waters into a lawless Wild West. She discusses the implications borders have in relation to how resources are distributed, how laws concerning fishing and water treatment are enforced, and how humans from different countries influence the environment for salmon.

Both authors will discuss how they researched the topics of their books, their writing process and other information.

Buccola teaches political theory and is the founding director of the Frederick Douglass Forum on Law, Rights, and Justice. He has a bachelor’s in philosophy from Santa Clara University, and a master’s and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Southern California.

Wadewitz, at Linfield since 2007, received her Ph.D. in history from UCLA in 2004. She then spent a year as a post-doctoral fellow in native and newcomer relations at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. In 2005 Stanford University’s Bill Lane Center for the Study of the North American West awarded Wadewitz a second post-doctoral fellow position. She received a bachelor’s in Asian studies from Pomona College and a master’s in history from UCLA.

The reading is sponsored by Friends of Nicholson Library. For more information, contact Susan Barnes Whyte, ext. 2517, swhyte@linfield.edu.

SAA CELEBRATES PHILANTHROPY WEEK

The Linfield Student Alumni Association (SAA) will host a series of events throughout the week to celebrate National Philanthropy Week.

Thank-a-thon: Students can thank one of Linfield’s 6,000 donors by stopping in Dillin Hall during the lunch hours on Monday through Thursday to write a quick note of thanks. The SAA will also be in Nicholson Library on Monday and Wednesday evenings where students will again have the opportunity to participate in the Thank-A-Thon.

Tag Day: On Monday and Tuesday, Nov. 12-13, the SAA will also celebrate Tag Day. Large signs resembling gift tags will be placed around the McMinnville Campus, highlighting improvements that have been made possible by generous gifts from Linfield alumni, parents, employees and friends.

For more information, contact Nikki West, assistant director of annual giving, at nwest@linfield.edu or ext. 2492.

BAND, CHOIR PRESENT FALL CONCERT

The Linfield College Concert Band will be joined by the Linfield Concert Choir to present a fall concert Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard and Lucille Ice Auditorium in Melrose Hall.

“Songs of America” will feature folk music, sacred music and popular music from when America was young through the sounds of Gershwin in the early 20th Century. The repertoire includes “Rhapsody on American Shaped Note Melodies” by James Curnow, “Cajun Folk Songs” by Frank Ticheli and “The Liberty Bell March” written for America’s Liberty Bell by John Philip Sousa.

The Linfield Concert Choir will join the band for William Silvester’s transcription of “Old American Songs” by Aaron Copland including the revivalist song “Zion’s Walls,” the hymn tune “At the River” and the Minstrel Song “Ching-a-Ring Chaw.” Both choir and band will also perform Joseph Turrin’s “Faith in Tomorrow.” The evening’s finale will feature the band playing music by George and Ira Gershwin in a medley arranged by Warren Barker, including “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You” and others.

The Linfield Concert Band, directed by Joan Haaland Paddock, professor of music and director of instrumental activities at Linfield, is a 37-member instrumental ensemble made up of woodwinds, brass and percussion. Student musicians include music majors, music minors and students from across disciplines. A number of local community members also play with the band.

The Linfield Concert Choir, directed by Anna Song, is the premier choral organization for the college. The select group of 40 voices was the first ensemble in the Pacific Northwest and has toured every year since its formation in 1930.

For more information, call the Linfield Music Department at ext. 2275.

NORDSTROM TO EXPLAIN GAME THEORY

Game theory in popular culture will be the topic of an upcoming faculty lecture by Jennifer Nordstrom, professor of mathematics, Wednesday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. in 201 Riley Hall.

Nordstrom will present “Battles of Wits and Matters of Trust: Game Theory in Popular Culture.” The talk will introduce essential concepts in game theory such as perfect knowledge, prisoners’ dilemma and chicken, which appear in a variety of films. For instance, in the 1987 movie The Princess Bride, two characters engage in an intellectual battle in which one tries to outwit the other by untangling the latter’s strategy. Also, in the 2008 Batman movie The Dark Knight, the Joker pits two ferryboats against each other so that one boat’s passengers can only save themselves by choosing to destroy the other boat.

Competitive situations often add drama to a film, as they elicit fundamental psychological conflicts between characters. In particular, game-theoretic scenarios develop themes of trust, selfishness and altruism. They can also be used to demonstrate characters’ intellectual prowess or fearlessness.

Nordstrom, a professor at Linfield since 2000, holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands, a master’s from the University of Maryland and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon.

The Linfield College faculty lecture series offers one presentation each month by a member of the Linfield faculty. For more information, call ext. 2409.

LINFIELD FOOTBALL IN NCAA PLAYOFFS

Northwest Conference rivals Linfield College and Pacific Lutheran have been rematched in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The Wildcats host the Lutes on Saturday, Nov. 17, at noon at Maxwell Field.

Ranked third in the d3football.com poll and fourth in the American Football Coaches Association poll, Linfield (9-0) qualified for the NCAA Division III playoffs for the fourth straight season. Pacific Lutheran, ranked 20th by d3football.com, is making its first NCAA playoff appearance since 2001.

A limited number of covered reserved tickets go on sale to the general public Tuesday starting at 1 p.m. in the athletic department offices, located at Lever Street and Linfield Avenue. Read more here.

EXHIBIT FEATURES STUDENT ARTISTS

Linfield College student art will be featured in an upcoming exhibit at the Linfield Gallery Nov. 26 through Dec. 12. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, call ext. 2804 or visit the gallery at www.linfield.edu/art/gallery.

KARLAN, DYER HOST SAME-SEX DEBATE

A debate examining the issues surrounding same-sex marriage will be held Monday, Nov. 26, at 7:30 p.m. in the Richard and Lucille Ice Auditorium in Melrose Hall.

The debate, “Should Oregon law recognize same-sex marriage?” will feature Pamela Karlan of Stanford Law School and Justin Dyer of the University of Missouri.

In 2004, Oregon voters approved Measure 36, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as the union of one man with one woman. As early as 2014, Oregon voters may have an opportunity to reconsider this issue. Should Oregon law recognize same-sex marriage?

Karlan, the Kenneth and Harle Montgomery Professor of Public Interest Law and the co-director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Stanford University, was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun. One of the nation’s leading experts on voting and the political process, Karlan has served as a commissioner on the California Fair Political Practices Commission and an assistant counsel and cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. She is the author of numerous books including Keeping Faith with the Constitution.

Dyer, assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri, is the author of Natural Law and the Antislavery Constitutional Tradition. His research interests span American constitutional theory and development, constitutional law, and American political thought. His research has been published in Polity, Journal of Politics, PS: Political Science and Politics, Perspectives on Political Science, and Politics & Religion. Currently, he is completing a book project that explores the jurisprudential and historical parallels between the issues of slavery and abortion in American politics.

The debate is sponsored by the Frederick Douglass Forum on Law, Rights and Justice. For more information, contact Nick Buccola, assistant professor of political science, ext. 2246, nbuccol@linfield.edu.

TALK COVERS ANIMAL MASCOTS

A lecture about the effects of animals as mascots for sports teams will be presented by Joan Forry, visiting assistant professor of philosophy, Thursday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in 219 T.J. Day Hall.

The lecture, “Against Animals as Sports Team Mascots,” will address the ethics of using mascots for sports teams and the effect it has on how the animals are viewed. Forry specializes in applied ethics and teaches courses on sport and society, environmental ethics, feminism and the politics of food. She is a member of the executive council for the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport. Her essay, “Towards a Somatic Sport Feminism,” has been published in the book Pragmatism and the Philosophy of Sport.

The lecture is sponsored by Linfield’s new interdisciplinary sport management minor, along with the departments of Business, Economics, Philosophy, and Health and Human Performance. For more information, contact Denise Farag, assistant professor of business, at ext. 2615, or dfarag@linfield.edu.

COMMUNITY NEWS

Sandy Soohoo-Refaei, associate director of international programs, has been named vice president for member relations on the board of directors for NAFSA: Association of International Educators. She will serve a three-year term.